Employing process simulation for hazardous process deviation identification and analysis

•Improvement of cause-consequence process interpretation of hazards analysis.•Use of the device change as a source of the process variables deviations.•Phenomenological model simulation applied for hazard process analysis.•Hazard analysis divided in Simulation Result Analysis and Hazard heuristic analysis.•Systematic procedure with high quality, less human error and quantitative deviation analysis.

To improve industrial safety, several hazard analyses of processes are available. The HAZOP is one of the most frequently employed and analyzes hazardous process deviations based on heuristic knowledge. Despite the wide application of the technique, new developments are especially important to enhance industrial safety. In this sense a systematic procedure is proposed for hazardous process deviation identification and analysis that employs process simulation and heuristic evaluation. Process simulation enables the analysis of process behaviors caused by device malfunctions and the performance of deviation analysis that considers the process non-linearities and dynamics. A comparison between the HAZOP and the proposed procedure is presented using a pump startup system case study, wherein the better system interpretation and results regarding abnormal process conditions are highlighted. A second case study applies the procedures to an offshore oil production process, showing the advantages of employing process simulation for studying deviation during a dynamic process's abnormal behavior.